Will Vandenberg fill Stanzi's shoes?

Frankly, I am not sure this coaching staff is all that adept at recognizing true QB skills. Banks sat while McCann played and then the whole Christensen/Stanzi shuffle bothered me. I think 90% of the Hawkeye fans realized that Stanzi had by far the better skill set, yet the staff couldn't make up their mind and it actually cost them at least one game before the rolled the dice with Ricky. I just hope if Vandenberg doesn't shine immediately in the preconference games, they trot the other guys out there and see what they can do in game conditions and don't stubbornly stay with their first decision.
 


Frankly, I am not sure this coaching staff is all that adept at recognizing true QB skills. Banks sat while McCann played and then the whole Christensen/Stanzi shuffle bothered me. I think 90% of the Hawkeye fans realized that Stanzi had by far the better skill set, yet the staff couldn't make up their mind and it actually cost them at least one game before the rolled the dice with Ricky. I just hope if Vandenberg doesn't shine immediately in the preconference games, they trot the other guys out there and see what they can do in game conditions and don't stubbornly stay with their first decision.

This seems like a contradiction. You criticize the staff for sticking with McCann over Banks, and Christensen over Stanzi (both of which I agree with you on) because the first choice had inferior talent. But Vandenberg has the most talent out of any QB on the roster. I don't expect him to dominate this year, but next year he should excel.
 


How do you know that Vandenberg has the most talent out of any QB on the roster? How many of the others have we seen in game situations? I am not saying he doesn't, but we are pretty much going with a blank slate since Stanzi's eligibility is up. Vandenberg has played in three games and while he acquitted himself OK in the OSU game, he did throw several picks and we didn't win the game (not all his fault, obviously). His other two game performances weren't exactly eye openers. He may be the second coming now that he is older, but if he isn't, I hope the staff has the cojones to make the call and send in the back ups. You never know when they may be needed down the road anyway and some real game experience might be priceless.
 


I think VDB is in the ideal situation. He's got a stellar O-line up front and a horse in the run game with Coker.
Mentally he has got to be thinking; I played a hell of a game against one of the best teams in the country. I've got what it takes to be a B1G QB.
I have every confidence in him.
 


A drop off under center is one thing, but in the end I'm looking at wins and losses. Even after the drop off between Banks and Chandler Iowa was still able to pull off one hell of a season in 2003. We don't need JVB to fill Stanzi's shoes, we need him to perform adequately. He's got the tools around him to do that.

This is correct. People who are worried about whether or not V-Berg is "good" enough are the same folks who were worried about replacing Shonn Greenes production going into 2009. Just like Robinson and Wegher didn't need to match Greene's numbers, V-berg doesn't need to be Stanzi. He needs to do what every QB under Ferentz has been asked to do, and that is manage the game and not turn it over.
 


How do you know that Vandenberg has the most talent out of any QB on the roster? How many of the others have we seen in game situations? I am not saying he doesn't, but we are pretty much going with a blank slate since Stanzi's eligibility is up. Vandenberg has played in three games and while he acquitted himself OK in the OSU game, he did throw several picks and we didn't win the game (not all his fault, obviously). His other two game performances weren't exactly eye openers. He may be the second coming now that he is older, but if he isn't, I hope the staff has the cojones to make the call and send in the back ups. You never know when they may be needed down the road anyway and some real game experience might be priceless.

Well Vandenberg has been in front of Weinke for quite some time now, and Weinke hasn't looked better than JVB, either in limited game action or in the spring(s). That leaves Derby (who is by all accounts not ready), and Rudock (who will redshirt to maximize eligibility, and has no grasp of the playbook). I find it difficult to see a better option than Vandenberg.
 


No, I think we will see a drop-off at QB unfortunately. For a Junior, he has not had a lot of experience at QB. Yes, playing in the shoe (and doing quite well with what the OSU defense game him) is definitely good experience. But, I also see a QB that crapped his pants against little ole northwestern and minny. OSU wins easily in the shoe if Tressel has his boys blitz more.

- Vandenberg doesn't need to reproduce what Stanzi did ... he just needs to be his own brand of QB. Iowa will likely have him mostly in "game manager" mode ... however, if he sees something, he'll be able to still try to make plays. Provided that the O can remain pretty healthy ... the group will be a pretty good unit if Vandenberg is just successful "managing" the game. Now, if he's successful when he's trying to make plays too .... then Iowa's O has the sort of ceiling that could propel the squad to a Big 10 championship.

- It's foolish for fans to assume that Vandenberg hasn't worked on his ability to read and "feel" blitzes. Since those starts, Vandenberg has had an ample amount of tape to study on himself in order to make plenty of corrections in that area. You don't believe that the Iowa D blitzes the crapola out of him? That's the nice thing about most players .... the DEVELOP and IMPROVE as the years go by. As an "exhibit A" .... just consider the play of Kyle Calloway going from the '07 season to the '08 season. Calloway was almost a human turnstile in '07 .... then in '08 he emerged as one of the better RTs in the Big 10. As an "exhibit B" ... everybody had Stanzi pegged as a INT-throwing machine ... and yet in this SR season he proved that he could throw far fewer INTs, all the while throwing even more TDs!

- To complement the prior 2 points ... the level of play of the entire O as a unit can easily surpass the level of play of the O as individuals. That's one of the beautiful things about the sport of football ... and it's an integral part of Hawkeye football. When Iowa's OL is executing, it's cool how even the stodgiest PSU and tOSU fans end up gushing about how choreographed and fluid Iowa's OL plays ... and how effective the O is as a result of it. Thus, when you look at Iowa's 2012 O ... while Vandenberg is the leader of the O ... he's not going to be stuck doing everything on his own. Iowa has a great OL ... Iowa has some great WRs and TEs ... Iowa has a great RB .... the pieces are in place for Iowa to field a pretty formidable O. While the O will invariably need "emerging stories" to occur in order to drive the O forward and to new heights ... however, the success of the unit will be a TEAM endeavor. While Vandenberg is in his first year as a "regular" starter .... he'll be having plenty of help. He'll have a 1st round LT blocking for him, he'll have one of the best Cs in the Ferentz era blocking for him, he'll have Iowa's most "pro-ready" WR in the Ferentz-era running routes for him, and he has a RB sharing the backfield with him whom many folks compare to Shonn Greene.
 


Nice post Homer. I've been pretty adamant that you can't discuss shortcomings for JVB from almost two years ago. He's going to be a much different QB and it's doubtful to me he wont be more in tune with blitz packages and how to manage the situation to our advantage. In thinking that through, I'd be willing to bet there is will be a huge emphasis this fall on game planning on teams bringing pressure. IMO that is the only way teams beat Iowa this year. They have to get to the QB consistently and force turnovers.

Think about it...if the O-Line stays healthy (and Coker for that matter), you know they will control the line of scrimmage and we will run the ball effectively. Teams then need to dedicate more people to the line of scrimmage, especially early in down and distance to get us behind the chains. If JVB is as accurate as they say he is, (Okeefe has raved numerous times), he's going to have a field day with our short passing game. LB and safeties have to respect the play action. The key with the Iowa offense this year becomes JVB's ability to be accurate on 3rd and manageable (3rd and 5, 3rd and 6). If we keep the chains moving, it opens up so much in our offense. I absolutely love the way this team is shaping up offensively. I don't think there are any question marks beyond JVB, and he is a minor one.

With what should be a very good oline, TE duo, WR tandem, and RB...there is no reason not to have high expectations for JVB. I believe he's ready...he has the pedigree, shown it in game conditions, and appears to be a gamer.
 


The last two post are pretty spot on. If Vandy can get his finesse down and or just spend alot of time playing catch with the guys, he will be fine. I just dont think when he had to step in for Stanzi, the guys were used to bullets. So I think between that and him working on reads, it is very likely he will do just fine. Get a couple non con's under him and he will be ready for the B10.
 


Nice post Homer. I've been pretty adamant that you can't discuss shortcomings for JVB from almost two years ago. He's going to be a much different QB and it's doubtful to me he wont be more in tune with blitz packages and how to manage the situation to our advantage. In thinking that through, I'd be willing to bet there is will be a huge emphasis this fall on game planning on teams bringing pressure. IMO that is the only way teams beat Iowa this year. They have to get to the QB consistently and force turnovers.

Think about it...if the O-Line stays healthy (and Coker for that matter), you know they will control the line of scrimmage and we will run the ball effectively. Teams then need to dedicate more people to the line of scrimmage, especially early in down and distance to get us behind the chains. If JVB is as accurate as they say he is, (Okeefe has raved numerous times), he's going to have a field day with our short passing game. LB and safeties have to respect the play action. The key with the Iowa offense this year becomes JVB's ability to be accurate on 3rd and manageable (3rd and 5, 3rd and 6). If we keep the chains moving, it opens up so much in our offense. I absolutely love the way this team is shaping up offensively. I don't think there are any question marks beyond JVB, and he is a minor one.

With what should be a very good oline, TE duo, WR tandem, and RB...there is no reason not to have high expectations for JVB. I believe he's ready...he has the pedigree, shown it in game conditions, and appears to be a gamer.

Another thing that really excites me about Vandenberg is that he's more of a "pure passer" like Tate. He has a quick release and he's really accurate. Now what's even cooler is that he's taller than Tate ... and has the leadership skills of Stanzi (or so I've heard).
 


Another thing that really excites me about Vandenberg is that he's more of a "pure passer" like Tate. He has a quick release and he's really accurate. Now what's even cooler is that he's taller than Tate ... and has the leadership skills of Stanzi (or so I've heard).

I couldn't agree more about the pure passer comment...JVB's mechanics are so sound and he seems to have incredible confidence about where the ball is going. No short arming...he lets it go in such a fluid manner and we all know about his velocity. If he shows touch also, it's going to be a very good year.
 




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