Your thoughts on WRs making the offense go

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uihawk82

Well-Known Member
Again WR and OLine are going to be the make or break units next year. A better, more powerful line that can pick up blitzes will be huge. But to jump up to scoring 34-35 points a game and being consistent in scoring and moving the ball I think we need the passing game to go to 65% completion rate. I heard someone say Stanley was at 55% and again it was those dropped balls and throws under pressure that hurt that percentage.

Besides Easley and ISM I am not familiar with who we have at WR and who is coming in that might help.

Easley is above avg and will probably be working out a lot with Stanley. ISM has the potential.

Who else do we have at receiver that can be at least above avg? I think Brandon Smith is the only name I recognize but I cant even remember him in any plays.

Do we have any receivers coming in who might play right away. Signed Almost ready to go into football hibernation
 
uihawk82 said:
Again WR and OLine are going to be the make or break units next year. A better, more powerful line that can pick up blitzes will be huge. But to jump up to scoring 34-35 points a game and being consistent in scoring and moving the ball I think we need the passing game to go to 65% completion rate. I heard someone say Stanley was at 55% and again it was those dropped balls and throws under pressure that hurt that percentage.

Besides Easley and ISM I am not familiar with who we have at WR and who is coming in that might help.

Easley is above avg and will probably be working out a lot with Stanley. ISM has the potential.

Who else do we have at receiver that can be at least above avg? I think Brandon Smith is the only name I recognize but I cant even remember him in any plays.

Do we have any receivers coming in who might play right away. Signed Almost ready to go into football hibernation
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If ISM can cure himself of the dropsies, he has a chance to be really good. He's found ways to get separation, has great top end speed, and has been able to make good plays on 50/50 balls as well. Plus, he's got the frame to put on 20-30 more pounds without losing speed too.

Smith could be a jump ball monster as well. He was already there physically, but as we saw on a few occasions, was still not quite ready to take a bigger role.

Cooper is supposed to have some serious wheels, and played quite a bit on special teams last year as well.

The loss of Vandeberg's experience will hurt, but unfortunately he really wasn't the same player after two injuries in a short period of time either. Lots of PT and catches up for grabs.

I hear ya on hibernation. Once bowl season is over, I just never know what to do with myself. The NFL just doesn't fill the void.
 
BVHawk95 said:
If ISM

Smith could be a jump ball monster as well. He was already there physically, but as we saw on a few occasions, was still not quite ready to take a bigger role.

Cooper is supposed to have some serious wheels, and played quite a bit on special teams last year as well.

I hear ya on hibernation. Once bowl season is over, I just never know what to do with myself. The NFL just doesn't fill the void.
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Thanks. Good info on ISM as I was not as high on him the last half of the season.

What did Smith do to not make him look good.

Yeah, and I think the NFL now stands for Ninety Flags per game League as it has just become like pro wrassling grabbing, holding, clutching, penalties every other play.
 
uihawk82 said:
Thanks. Good info on ISM as I was not as high on him the last half of the season.

What did Smith do to not make him look good.

Yeah, and I think the NFL now stands for Ninety Flags per game League as it has just become like pro wrassling grabbing, holding, clutching, penalties every other play.
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Smith just showed some freshman jitters. I recall he fumbled after making a decent catch and run against MSU, which proved to be pretty costly. Add a few drops and just not really contributing overall. Not a knock on him, he just wasn't ready. I think another offseason will help him.

It's not even the play or the personality of the NFL I don't like, although I wish there was still the feelings competitiveness of the 70's and 80's was still there.

It's just not as diverse or emotionally investing as college football. Aside from a few minor tweaks and philosophical differences, everyone runs a really similar offense and either the 3-4 or 4-2-5.

Plus, college football is more local. I can't relate with the Packers like I can the Hawkeyes.
 
uihawk82 said:
Who else do we have at receiver that can be at least above avg? I think Brandon Smith is the only name I recognize but I cant even remember him in any plays.
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The only play I can remember off the top of my head is he is the one they threw to and it was dropped ( but there was very good coverage on him ) and the very next play was the fake field goal against Ohio St.
 
We lack talent at receiver period. People can spin it any way they want, but that is the issue. Easley is very average, and he is going to be our go to receiver. ISM is simply inconsistent. Smith has no speed and doesn't get open. He was on the field all the time this year, and was hardly ever thrown to because he just can't get open. Every year it seems like we hear about so and so really emerging in the spring and fall, then every year we have no receivers that can get open. This year Brandon Smith was supposed to be a real threat, but he caught maybe 5 passes all year, most of them screen passes, and fumbled 1 or 2 of them. Young was talked about as well, and he rarely saw the field at receiver.
 
Caddy said:
We lack talent at receiver period. People can spin it any way they want, but that is the issue. Easley is very average, and he is going to be our go to receiver. ISM is simply inconsistent. Smith has no speed and doesn't get open. He was on the field all the time this year, and was hardly ever thrown to because he just can't get open. Every year it seems like we hear about so and so really emerging in the spring and fall, then every year we have no receivers that can get open. This year Brandon Smith was supposed to be a real threat, but he caught maybe 5 passes all year, most of them screen passes, and fumbled 1 or 2 of them. Young was talked about as well, and he rarely saw the field at receiver.
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What is his 40 time? (Smith)
 
Caddy said:
We lack talent at receiver period. People can spin it any way they want, but that is the issue. Easley is very average, and he is going to be our go to receiver. ISM is simply inconsistent. Smith has no speed and doesn't get open. He was on the field all the time this year, and was hardly ever thrown to because he just can't get open. Every year it seems like we hear about so and so really emerging in the spring and fall, then every year we have no receivers that can get open. This year Brandon Smith was supposed to be a real threat, but he caught maybe 5 passes all year, most of them screen passes, and fumbled 1 or 2 of them. Young was talked about as well, and he rarely saw the field at receiver.
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Aren't you just a ray of sunshine.
 
BVHawk95 said:
Smith just showed some freshman jitters. I recall he fumbled after making a decent catch and run against MSU, which proved to be pretty costly. Add a few drops and just not really contributing overall. Not a knock on him, he just wasn't ready. I think another offseason will help him.

It's not even the play or the personality of the NFL I don't like, although I wish there was still the feelings competitiveness of the 70's and 80's was still there.

It's just not as diverse or emotionally investing as college football. Aside from a few minor tweaks and philosophical differences, everyone runs a really similar offense and either the 3-4 or 4-2-5.

Plus, college football is more local. I can't relate with the Packers like I can the Hawkeyes.
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Everyone had the dropsies. That has to change. I can’t remember what podcast it was or when it was. But Jon was talking about NS completion percentage being higher if weren’t for the drops. I think he had a count of 30, it was a high number.
 
The O-Line makes the Iowa offense go.

If the WR could even be average from a Big Ten standard, that’d be an improvement since the DJK, McNutt and Smith days.

My one wish is better health at the OL. Seems like it’s been years since we had our OL at full strength for a long stretch of the season. The loss of Daniels makes the health of the OL even more important.

If the OL is healthy I believe we’ll have a strong running game under Ferentz. The TEs certainly will be a strength.

If those 2 are good, then just an average WR crew would be more than sufficient with Stanley.
 
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To me, it's both fascinating and frustrating how poorly we've done at WR the past 18 years. Of all of the WRs Kirk has brought in over the years, only one (Smith) saw the field in an NFL regular season game, and had no catches. For a program in a P5 conference over an almost 20 year period, that is a mind-boggling statistic.

I've come to the conclusion that Kirk simply doesn't view the WR position as integral to success, and I don't think it's completely because we've always been a "run first" team. I just don't think he sees much value in explosive WRs. Convert a few QBs or DBs and teach them how to block, and focus on guys that are serviceable. They're just low on the priority list for him.

As for our current WRs, I posted on another thread that I honestly just don't see Smith as being this potential star that others are seeing. I'd love to be proven wrong, but I see a tall guy with big hands that can jump, but not much else. In HS you can get away with that, but, at this level, that means he's going to be an easy cover. Things could change, but right now he appears to lack suddenness and explosion. Cooper has a nice upside, and ISM does as well. Quarells is a complete unknown at this point. To me, Beyer is an intriguing guy. I'd like to see him get more looks.
 
ibahawkeye said:
The O-Line makes the Iowa offense go.

If the WR could even be average from a Big Ten standard, that’d be an improvement since the DJK, McNutt and Smith days.

My one wish is better health at the OL. Seems like it’s been years since we had our OL at full strength for a long stretch of the season. The loss of Daniels makes the health of the OL even more important.

If the OL is healthy I believe we’ll have a strong running game under Ferentz. The TEs certainly will be a strength.

If those 2 are good, then just an average WR crew would be more than sufficient with Stanley.
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Yep. Continuity is important for any offensive line it is twice as important for Iowa. Given Iowa’s philosophy on offense and lack of playmakers the o-line must stay healthy. Depth just hasn’t been there the last few years.
 
BVHawk95 said:
Smith just showed some freshman jitters. I recall he fumbled after making a decent catch and run against MSU, which proved to be pretty costly. Add a few drops and just not really contributing overall. Not a knock on him, he just wasn't ready. I think another offseason will help him.

It's not even the play or the personality of the NFL I don't like, although I wish there was still the feelings competitiveness of the 70's and 80's was still there.

It's just not as diverse or emotionally investing as college football. Aside from a few minor tweaks and philosophical differences, everyone runs a really similar offense and either the 3-4 or 4-2-5.

Plus, college football is more local. I can't relate with the Packers like I can the Hawkeyes.
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Yup should have redshirted him. I think he'll be a stud. He's got the body and athleticism to be. But playing him when he wasn't ready for just that little bit he did was a waste of a year of eligibility. I don't see how that'd help him develop much. Maybe on the blocking side. But not from the route running or receiving side of things he didn't get asked to do much.

ISM I think will be pretty good if used correctly. You can't go throwing him jump balls he's not nearly physical enough to win those matchups. He's going to outrun guys and have quick cuts while running good routes to get open. Use him on those type of plays.

Easley is who he is. Put him in the slot and use him within 10 yards of the LOS on quick hitters. I think they used him pretty much right on the money for who he is.

The next spot is the huge question mark. Will it be Quarrals? Cooper played some towards the end of the year but he's so skinny and frail looking. I think it's a crapshoot as to who'll be the 4th receiver it'll be interesting to see how it plays out
 
One thing that scares me is moving Easley to the outside because he has more experience. That’s what happened to MVB and (along with injuries) is part of the reason he struggled later in his career. NE is a great slot guy. Quick and can work across the field against linebackers. Putting him on the outside against corners is a mistake because he doesn’t have the speed or physicality to beat corners. I would like to see ISM, Smith, cooper (if he is as fast as ppl say) on the outside.
 
The more I read on here about the potential talent we have at WR the more excited I get...then I watch the games...
 
Looks like we have a stable of tight ends in the system after Fant & Hockenson. I wonder if we will see Fant or Hockenson split out or used on the outside with a more traditional blocking TE on the line. Three tight end sets?
 
One thing I do expect is for Iowa's passing game to more resemble what it was before Greg Davis. I don't have a problem with that. Iowa never was super productive at WR but I thought the old system was much more complementary to the rest of the offense than what Davis was trying to do.

Plus they will be in the second year of implementation. Less time getting new coaching staff settled in and time spent transitioning guys from one system to another.
 
Good points about keeping your good route runner like Easley in the slot, Yes Fant out wider with Hockensen and another TE around the tackles, lots of TEs up the seams to occupy safeties and lbkrs and need ISM and another wideout to be explosive on the outside and up the field.

But some of you also made me very depressed because this is the weak point to us scoring another 6-7 points a game and maybe winning 9 or so games.
 
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